Wizard of Oz- How Is Dorothy a Feminist Hero?

In what ways can Dorothy be described as a feminist hero? In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum has made sure there is a feminist hero in his book. This is because everyone should see an example of a good feminist hero, especially around the time when this book was written; in 1900, it was very rare to read a book with any sort of feminism in it. Dorothy throughout the book, shows many heroic acts supporting the idea that she is a feminist hero.

When L. Frank Baum is talking about Dorothy in the book, she is always leading the rest of the characters. During the book whenever the characters come across danger Dorothy is usually the one to stand up for them and not just thinking of herself. Dorothy is always helping the characters out instead of waiting for one of the male characters to help them instead. When L. Frank Baum is describing Dorothy and her friends, Dorothy is always described as independent and competent, the reasons why is because she leads and suggests the way to everyone so she doesn’t have to always rely on everyone else. We are told how Dorothy discovers the tin wood man (p. 34), how Dorothy tells everyone that “we must cross this strange place in order to get to the other side” she says this without worrying and she is taking charge (p.167) and how Dorothy builds everyone a warm fire (p.50). In the book leadership plays a strong part of Dorothy’s characteristics as she is not always relying on others for direction. Throughout the story, we are lead to see that Dorothy is a strong, competent and independent character. These are important qualities for any feminist to have, because if they weren’t strong or they were dependant on others, they wouldn’t be able to achieve anything in their lives and they wouldn’t be able to lead others. Dorothy always tries to help out even in dangerous situations, proving that she is not cowardly. There is evidence of this when Dorothy slaps the lion on the nose, after fearing for Toto’s...